In the summer I built myself a food smoker in the back garden, which over the last few months has become an essential part of our everyday food. We started out slowly smoking our own bacon, and cheese, working our way through the supermarket cheese fridge. I had a long held ambition to smoke some proper French Brie, which gave the perfect excuse for a trip to Calais, now we have moved on through several Cheddars, Gouda, Red Leicester, each one more delicious than the one before, transforming the mundane to the magnificent. Next came home cured and smoked salmon where we thought we had hit the pinnacle, it couldn’t get any better, until this weekend.

Purely by chance I espied peeled brown shrimps on the market shell fish stall, which galvanised me to make Potted shrimp, surely one of England’s Greatest Delicacies . Usually only seen in miniature pots in up market food halls costing a small fortune, it is probably one of the easiest dishes to make and yet tastes so good. However following the suggestion of a very clever daughter we smoked the shrimps first. To create smoked potted shrimp.

Eating it could almost be described as a religious experience, magnificent smoky shrimp flavour encased in spicy butter, add to it home baked French bread, washed down with the first of this years pressed apple juice, and as I have said before “a meal fit for a king”, but if Prince Charles Knocked at the door when I was eating it, I probably wouldn’t let him in. Its too good to share.

I do feel having used that joke three times maybe its time, it was retired so I wont use it again, but maybe I should actually invite him for tea, could be worth it just to get the polite letter declining the invitation. In the meantime if any one wants the recipe let me know and I will post it.